Penn Dixie Thanks YOU!

On behalf of the Hamburg Natural History Society/Penn Dixie, I thank all who helped to make our fundraiser dinner on Thursday November 2 the largest and most successful yet. We welcomed 170 guests for an evening of music, food, and prizes — all in support of our geological treasure in Hamburg.

Moving our fundraiser to Buffalo Riverworks really jazzed it up (photo above)! My friends Chuck Porreca (bass, left), J.F. Oliver (saxophone, right), and Dean Davis (drums, not pictured) created a great atmosphere for our guests. Maybe I’ll join them for a song at our next fundraiser?

You helped us raise $11,056 for Penn Dixie — a tremendous accomplishment!! These funds will be used to develop new programming, create new promotional materials, and push towards our goals of hiring a third full time staffer and a building a permanent facility on our site.

We thank Buffalo Riverworks for great hospitality!

As you know, our fossil digs are notable contributors to local tourism and also help to inspire youth towards careers in science and engineering. We were especially fortunate in 2017 to welcome 17,914 visitors — a record number! Our previous high was 15,589 visitors in 2016. Notable events included the solar eclipse on August 21 with 2,207 guests — our biggest program ever, Earth Science Day on October 7 with 1,216 guests — our second biggest program ever, and 300 guests for Dig with the Experts on May 20-22. During a very busy collecting season we welcomed visitors from 40 states and 14 countries.-

Media Professional Elizabeth Carey was our special auctioneer!

There’s plenty more planned for 2018, but for now we hope that you’ll celebrate all of our success with us. Penn Dixie would not exist without the support of our community backers, government leaders, society directors and members, dedicated volunteers, friendly staff, science colleagues, and extended family in the cultural community. We’re so grateful to have you along for the ride!

Legislator Lynne Dixon (left) is a strong Penn Dixie supporter and we thank her for helping us to secure major funding each year. In addition to Legislator Dixon, we thank County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Legislative Majority Chair Joseph Lorigo, Legislative Minority Chair Thomas Loughran, Congressman Chris Collins, and Hamburg Town Supervisor Steven Walters.